Letter asking for the balance on the date of death in New Mexico

A short letter that asks a bank or other holder for the value of the person's accounts on the date of death. Banks usually want this before the estate is settled.

Required when you mail the letter.

It goes into the letter only. It is never saved or sent to us.

It goes into the letter as you type it. You can add a ready-made sentence:

Other formats

Do not send original documents unless the holder asks; keep copies. Sign the letter and keep a copy.

What to expect

A bank may ask for a certified death certificate and proof that you are allowed to ask. The bank decides what it will release and when.

Bank accounts after a death in New Mexico

A bank account with a payable-on-death beneficiary passes to that person without probate. For an account in the person's name alone, the successor can present the small estate affidavit after 30 days if the entire estate, minus liens, is worth no more than $50,000 and there is no real property.

Law: NMSA 45-3-1201

Source: Official page

Do bank accounts count toward the small estate limit?

Kind of propertyHow it is treatedDetails
Bank accounts in the person's name alone
Counts

Bank accounts in the person's name alone count.

Law: NMSA 45-3-1201(A)

Joint or payable-on-death (POD) bank accounts
Left out

Payable-on-death accounts pass to the named beneficiary as a non-probate transfer.

Transfer-on-death (TOD) and payable-on-death (POD) in New Mexico

Bank account (POD)

Yes

Source: Official page

Death certificates in New Mexico

Make checks or money orders payable to NM Vital Records.

Where to get it
New Mexico Department of Health, Vital Records
Official page
Official page

Surviving spouse in New Mexico

New Mexico is a community property state. A home the couple owned as community property passes to the surviving spouse without probate when there is no will or the will leaves the person's share to the spouse; after six months the spouse can record an Affidavit of Surviving Spouse with the county clerk if the home's assessed full value is $500,000 or less. A spouse or legal heir can also transfer a vehicle at the MVD with a Certificate of Transfer Without Probate.

Law: NMSA 45-3-1205

Collection of personal property by affidavit (Affidavit of Successor in Interest)

A sworn statement you give to a bank, company or the Motor Vehicle Division, so they pay or deliver the person's property to you. It is not filed with a court. It cannot be used to transfer title to real estate.

Limit

Up to $50,000 (deaths on or after January 1, 2012) Counted after subtracting liens (what is owed on the property).

Date of deathLimit
On or after January 1, 2012
$50,000

The entire estate, wherever it is, minus liens and encumbrances, cannot be worth more than $50,000.

What counts

The value of the entire estate, wherever located, minus liens and encumbrances. The courts' self-help guide says a small estate does not include any real property.

Waiting period

At least 30 days must have passed since the death.

Who can use it

A person claiming to be the successor (the person entitled to the property under the will or state law), or someone acting for that person.

Court or where to file

Not filed with a court. You give it to the bank, company or Motor Vehicle Division.

Notary

The affidavit must be signed by the person entitled to the property and notarized.

Papers to attach
  • Certified copy of the death certificate (the MVD requires an original or certified copy)
Steps
  1. Wait until at least 30 days after the death.
  2. Check that no one has applied to be personal representative in any state.
  3. Prepare the affidavit with the required statements (your county probate court can tell you where to get a form).
  4. Sign it in front of a notary.
  5. Give it to the bank or other holder; for a vehicle, use MVD form MVD-10013.
Fee

No court filing fee, because the affidavit is not filed with a court.

What the bank or holder must do

On a proper affidavit, the holder must pay the debt or deliver the property, and a transfer agent must re-register securities to the successor.

Law: NMSA 1978, 45-3-1201 (Laws 2011, ch. 124 (SB 146), sec. 50)

Source: Official page

Who inherits with no will in New Mexico

If there is no will, the surviving spouse's share is set by NMSA 45-2-102 and depends on whether the property is community or separate property. Anything not going to the spouse, or everything if there is no spouse, goes to the descendants, then parents, then the parents' descendants (brothers and sisters and their children), then grandparents and their descendants, half on each side.

Law: NMSA 1978, 45-2-102, 45-2-103

Source: Official page

Good to know in New Mexico

  • The small estate affidavit cannot be used to perfect title to real estate.
  • A surviving spouse can take a community-property home worth up to $500,000 (assessed full value) by recording an affidavit after six months, with no probate.
  • The MVD's Transfer Without Probate lets a legal heir or spouse retitle a vehicle after 30 days without a value limit.

Related pages

Free help in New Mexico

A court self-help center or a legal aid office can check whether the estate qualifies, free of charge or at low cost.